I met up recently with a high school friend who is struggling through some tough life situations.
We read through Psalms and prayed. I also told him about Joni Eareckson Tada. While he’d heard about her (he’d heard her on the radio), he wasn’t familiar with her ministry or her life story.
I took him to the Joni and Friends® Facebook page and played last Friday’s Facebook Live event, A Question and Answer Session with Joni about Suffering.
He was ministered to from the very start when Doug Mazza, President of Joni and Friends®, introduced Joni as “One of the most hopeful people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and one who has leaned on the hope of Christ through 49 years in a wheelchair.”
As she does on her daily radio programs, “Diamonds in the Dust” and “Joni and Friends®,”Joni is very transparent, candid and quick to reference His Word in what she shared with Facebook viewers — great reminders like:
God’s idea of good is to make us more like Jesus – to conform us more into His image.
One of the reasons why God permits suffering is so that we can identify with His Son, Jesus.
Psalm 19:50 — His promises renew my life.
The most important thing when we are hurting is to share the comfort that we have gleaned, with others.
God answers prayers . . . sometimes it’s a “yes,” sometimes it’s a “no” and sometimes, it’s “wait.”
If you’re depressed . . . go serve someone in your community – someone who is suffering worse than you are.
Whether the suffering is physical or emotional, thankful for Joni’s encouragement and Biblical insights which buoy the most weary of body and soul!
Lee Ann Jackson
Ambassador Advertising. We Connect. Ministry and Media.
P.S Be sure to like the Joni and Friends® Facebook page and follow Joni on Twitter – two more ways to encourage your listeners!
